Biology News

Carnivorous Marine Snails Use Insulin to Disable Their Prey

The Geography cone snail (Conus geographus) attempting to capture fish prey; as the snails approach potential prey, they release a specialized insulin into the water, along with neurotoxins that inhibit sensory circuits, resulting in hypoglycemic, sensory-deprived fish that are easier to engulf with their large, distensible false mouths; once engulfed, powerful paralytic toxins are injected by the snail into each fish. Image credit: Jason Biggs / Baldomero Olivera.
Jan 20, 2015 by News Staff

Fish-hunting cone snails add a unique form of insulin to the venom cocktail they use to disable their fish prey, according to a new study. The Geography cone snail (Conus geographus) attempting to capture fish prey; as the snails approach potential prey, they release a specialized insulin into the water, along with neurotoxins that inhibit sensory circuits, resulting in hypoglycemic, sensory-deprived fish that are easier to engulf with their large,...

read more...
The newly discovered Inia araguaiaensis, in appearance, resembles the Amazon river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis), shown in this photo.

Top 20 New Species Discovered in 2014

Jan 18, 2015 by Natali Anderson

Sci-News.com compiles an annual list of the top 20 new species of animals, plants and insects found in the past twelve months. 1. Araguaian boto (Inia...

Bar-headed geese (Anser indicus) in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India. Image credit: J.M.Garg / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Study Reveals How Bar-Headed Geese Cope with Flying over Himalayas

Jan 16, 2015 by News Staff

Bar-headed geese (Anser indicus) perform a sort of roller coaster ride through the mountains, essentially tracking the underlying terrain even if this...

The marine defaunation experience is much less advanced, even though humans have been harvesting ocean wildlife for thousands of years; the recent industrialization of this harvest, however, initiated an era of intense marine wildlife declines. If left unmanaged, scientists predict that marine habitat alteration, along with climate change, will exacerbate marine defaunation. Image credit: Jenny Huang / CC BY 2.0.

Era of Intense Marine Wildlife Declines is Beginning, Scientists Say

Jan 16, 2015 by News Staff

A group of scientists led by Prof Douglas McCauley from the University of California, Santa Barbara, has found that the same patterns that led to the collapse...

Ant drinking nectar from the peristome of a Raffles' pitcher-plant (Nepenthes rafflesiana). Image credit: NepGrower / CC BY 2.5.

Carnivorous Pitcher Plants Use Clever Strategy to Lure Their Prey

Jan 14, 2015 by News Staff

Insect-eating plants of the genus Nepenthes temporarily switch off their traps in order to lure more prey into danger, according to a new study published...

The Dampier Peninsula goanna (Varanus sparnus). Image credit: R. Ellis.

New Species of Varanus Discovered in Australia

Jan 5, 2015 by News Staff

A team of scientists led by Dr Stephen Donnellan of the University of Adelaide has described a new species of Varanus lizard from the Dampier Peninsula,...

The Rqc2 protein (yellow) binds tRNAs (dark blue, teal) which add amino acids (bright spot in middle) to a partially made protein (green); the complex binds the ribosome (white). Image credit: Janet Iwasa / University of Utah.

Scientists Discover New Mechanism of Protein Synthesis

Jan 4, 2015 by News Staff

A team of researchers co-led by Prof Adam Frost from the University of Utah and the University of California, Prof Onn Brandman of Stanford University,...

The newly-discovered bird, the Cryptic treehunter, was formerly confused with the Alagoas foliage-gleaner (photographed November, 2007 in Frei Caneca, Brazil). Image credit: © Ciro Albano, NE Brazil Birding / via Papeis Avulsos de Zoologia.

New Bird Species Discovered in 2014

Jan 3, 2015 by News Staff

A cryptic species of treehunter from northeastern Brazil, a small passerine bird from the Brazilian state Bahia and two tiny birds from Indonesia are among...

Limnonectes larvaepartus is unique among frogs in having both internal fertilization and birth of tadpoles. Top: male, left, and female. Bottom: an adult male observed calling while perched on the edge of a small pool 2 m away from a 2 m wide stream; several tadpoles were present in the pool including the two visible within the yellow circle. Image credit: Jimmy McGuire.

Limnonectes larvaepartus: Scientists Discover Tadpole-Bearing Species of Frog in Indonesia

Jan 3, 2015 by News Staff

The newly-discovered species of fanged frog, Limnonectes larvaepartus, from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi is the only frog known that gives direct...

A strolling leopard in the Bandipur National Park and Tiger Reserve seems to have a camera trap strapped to its back. Image credit: WCS India.

Best Camera-Trap Pictures of 2014

Jan 3, 2015 by News Staff

Scientists at the Wildlife Conservation Society have released their favorite camera-trap pictures of 2014. They use camera traps as a non-invasive tool...

These are the 98 new species of Trigonopterus plus T. amphoralis (row 1, 7th from left), a species lost since 1922. Image credit: Alexander Riedel.

98 New Beetle Species Discovered in Indonesia, One Named after Sir David Attenborough

Dec 24, 2014 by News Staff

A group of scientists headed by Dr Alexander Riedel of Natural History Museum Karlsruhe in Germany has described 98 new species of the beetle genus Trigonopterus...

Phryganistria tamdaoensis, male. Image credit: Joachim Bresseel / Jerome Constant.

World’s Second-Longest Insect Discovered in Vietnam

Dec 20, 2014 by Natali Anderson

The fascinating creature, a stick-insect, can reach up to 32 cm in body length and 52 cm with forelimbs stretched out. It has reportedly been found in...

This snailfish (bottom-left of the image) at 8,145 meters is a record for the deepest fish ever filmed; small amphipods are visible in the center. Image credit: University of Aberdeen.

Marine Biologists Capture Footage of World’s Deepest-Dwelling Fish in Mariana Trench

Dec 19, 2014 by News Staff

The world’s deepest fish has been captured on film by scientists from the University of Hawaii, Schmidt Ocean Institute and the University of Aberdeen...

Tornado. Image credit: Macbroadcast / CC BY-SA 2.0.

Songbirds Can Sense Tornado-Producing Storms, Ornithologists Say

Dec 19, 2014 by News Staff

While tracking a population of golden-winged warblers (Vermivora chrysoptera) in Tennessee in April 2014, a team of ornithologists led by Dr Henry Streby...

Newly discovered species of sea lily. Image credit: Charles Messing.

Scientist Discovers New Species of Sea Lily, Auctioning Off Naming Rights on eBay

Dec 18, 2014 by News Staff

Prof Charles Messing from the Nova Southeastern University’s Oceanographic Center is auctioning off the naming rights on eBay to a new species of...

Hycleus marcipoli, male, in dorsal view. Image credit: Pan Z et al.

Newly Discovered Blister Beetle Named after Famed Explorer Marco Polo

Dec 17, 2014 by Enrico de Lazaro

An international group of entomologists led by Dr Marco Bologna from the University Roma Tre, Italy, has described a new species in the beetle genus Hycleus. Hycleus...

Alviniconcha strummeri, a new species of deep-sea snail named after Joe Strummer of The Clash. Image credit: Shannon B. Johnson et al.

Five New Species of Spiky Sea Snails Discovered, One Named after Joe Strummer

Dec 16, 2014 by News Staff

A group of marine biologists headed by Dr Robert Vrijenhoek from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute has described five new species of deep water...

A close-up view of a male Osedax priapus. Scale bar - 0.3 mm. Image credit: Greg Rouse.

Osedax priapus: New Species of Bone-Eating Worm Discovered

Dec 13, 2014 by News Staff

A team of marine biologists led by Dr Robert Vrijenhoek from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute has discovered a new species of bone-devouring...

The Blue dasher, female, photographed in Skaneateles, NY. Image credit: R.A. Nonenmacher / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Entomologists Amazed by How Dragonflies Dance

Dec 11, 2014 by News Staff

Dragonflies move like ballet dancers when they hunt, according to new research by entomologists from the University of Arizona, Howard Hughes Medical Institute,...

The volcano hummingbird (Selasphorus flammula), a tiny bird that is a resident breeder in the highlands from Costa Rica to Panama. Image credit: Dick Daniels, www.carolinabirds.org / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Background Motion Confuses Hummingbirds

Dec 10, 2014 by News Staff

According to a new study carried out by ornithologists at the University of British Columbia, Canada, hummingbirds are surprisingly sensitive to movements...

© 2011-2025. Sci.News. All Rights Reserved. | Back to top